Building a Culture of Service and Volunteerism

For the Good of the Public

In this episode of For the Good of the Public podcast, Michael and Phebe share a conversation about service and volunteerism, highlighting leaders that show what Christians are doing to build a culture of service in their own communities. Phebe moderates as the panelists–Bryant Wright, President of Send Relief, Josh Dickson, Vice President of Public Policy at United Way Worldwide, and Sister Norma Pimentel, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley–discuss their work in helping others by restoring human dignity and building trust. Sister Norma is also one of the first two recipients of the CCPL’s Civil Renewal Award, which honors Christians who show exemplary contributions to the health and well-being of their communities and nation. Jonathan Keller received the award on behalf of his father, the late-Rev. Timothy Keller. The talks from the awards ceremony are not included in the podcast, but are available on the website and Youtube channel.

Watch the video recording of this talk on YouTube!

“The message of this panel is that this is what Christians are doing in their own communities at very local levels every day. It’s something that each of us can do as we go about our lives, and it’s those kinds of contributions that really make up the fabric of this country and make life livable for so many.” -Michael [02:18]

“Each of you have a wealth of experience working with faith groups or individuals who are motivated by faith. What motivates Christians to serve?” -Phebe [07:37]

“I think that’s key to what our faith moves us forward to do–to help others–because we’re able to see the need and the struggle, and we want to be able to restore that dignity of the person that is in need of that.” -Sister Norma [11:55]

“One thing I would encourage you folks on is don’t give up on the local church, because you’ve got the largest manpower of volunteers in local churches all over the world.” -Bryant [26:03]

“It’s important to get offline a little bit and to get into community. I think that too often people are sitting on screens and only on screens, and I think where I have seen the most moving, formative, influential and impactful work happen is person-to-person with people.” -Josh [28:09]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[03:16] This week’s guests

[07:05] Restoring human dignity

[17:13] The church is the heartbeat

[22:59] Building that trust

[24:28] How to build a culture of service

[29:11] Current trends and innovations

[32:34] Outro

REFERENCES

• For the Good of the Public Summit
• New award honors Tim Keller and Sister Norma Pimentel for civic renewal
• Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
• Send Relief
• United Way Worldwide
• Beyond the Offering Plate: Views on Volunteering

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